1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a functional handpiece.
2. Description of Related Technology
With medical or dental handpieces one distinguishes between those which are equipped or can be equipped with a tool for the treatment of the human or animal body and with which the human or animal body is mechanically acted upon, and those handpieces which serve to keep the treatment site of the human or animal body in a condition which is capable being operated upon, for example delivering water and/or air for cooling and cleaning the treatment site, or delivering light to the treatment site or to remove body fluid, e.g. saliva or blood, from the treatment site, or to probe the treatment site. In the medical field concerned here, the first kind of handpiece are called working handpieces and the second kind functional handpieces. A functional handpiece can thus be a rinsing and/or blowing handpiece, an illumination handpiece or a probe handpiece.
A functional handpiece in the form of a rinsing or blowing handpiece is e.g. described in DE 35 00 085 C2. This dental functional handpiece serves to deliver water and/or air or light to the treatment site. This functional handpiece has an elongate grip part with the forward end of which a cannula is releasably connected which has at its forward end a light emission element to which light can be delivered via a light conductor or directly by a lamp, and which in functional operation emits the light forwardly onto the treatment site. The light emission element is surrounded by a protective tube of the cannula and has at its free end a central nozzle for water and surrounding the nozzle a second annular nozzle for air, which open into a common nozzle hole. The nozzle hole is surrounded by a sleeve which is fixedly placed in a forward receiving hole of the light emission body. The light emission element thus has at its forward end an annular end face out of which the light emerges in an annular form forwardly.
DE 100 45 115 A1 shows a dental or dental-medical handpiece the forward end region of which is formed by a light emission element, which is releasably connected with the handpiece by means of a plug-in fitting with a clamping connection.
From WO 99/47068 A there is described a suction handpiece in a multiplicity of exemplary forms. FIGS. 15 to 19 show a light emission element which is releasably connected with the suction handpiece by means of a plug-in fitting having a latching device.
The forms of treatment of the human or animal body may be of many kinds both with the functional handpiece itself and also together with a further working handpiece, whereby a good illumination of the treatment site is desired so that the person carrying out the treatment can clearly observe both the treatment site itself and also the result of treatment.